San Francisco -- Luxe, the San Francisco-based developer of an on-demand service that sends valets to handle the process of parking users' vehicles, said it has raised $20 million in its first round of funding. Investors included Venrock, Redpoint, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Data Collective and BoxGroup, as well as angel investors Dave Morin, Mark & Ali Pincus, Gary Vaynerchuk, Gil Penchina, Rick Marini, Fritz Lanman and Jason Kilar. The company, which currently operates in San Francisco and Los Angeles, plans to use the funds to expand into additional cities, starting with Boston, Chicago and Seattle by the end of April. Luxe also plans to hire more engineers, operators, designers and product leads. The company's Apple and Android apps allow users to request pre-screened valets to pick up their vehicles and park them in secure lots. http://luxevalet.com http://blog.luxevalet.com/growing-luxe/ _____________________________________________

o S.F.-Based Visually Raises $3.3 Million, Hires Top Executives

San Francisco -- Visually, the San Francisco-based provider of an on-demand creative services platform and curated freelance workforce, said on Thursday it has raised $3.3 million in a new round of funding, led by Crosslink. 500 Startups, Mitch Kapor Foundation and SoftTech VC also participated in the round. Along with the funding, the company has named Matt Cooper, formerly of oDesk, as its CEO and Silicon Valley veteran and investor Mark Goines as its chairman. Visually said it plans to use the funding to expand its creative services offerings. More than 1,300 brands currently use the company's services, including AOL, Red Bull, Twitter, NBC and P&G.http://visual.ly/ http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/visually-raises-33-million-to-expand-its-global-on-demand-creative-services-platform-300045828.html _____________________________________________

San Francisco -- Fitbit, the San Francisco-based maker of fitness tracking devices, said on Thursday it will acquire San Francisco-based FitStar, a developer of video-based health and fitness training apps. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Fitbit said the acquisition will allow its users to track their daily activity, then get a tailored exercise program designed specifically for them from fitness personalities such as former football standout Tony Gonzalez and yoga expert Tara Stiles. "The addition of FitStar to our Fitbit family will allow us to offer a custom-fit experience based on personalized tracking data and also deliver on our promise of providing enhanced services and coaching," said Fitbit co-founder and CEO James Park. Beginning immediately, FitStar users will be able to publish their FitStar workouts into Fitbit to see how their personal training or yoga practice impacts their overall health. Eventually, Fitbit users will be able to set up a FitStar account by using their Fitbit account login. http://www.fitbit.com/http://fitstar.com/ http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150305005246/en/Market-Leader-Fitbit-Acquires-FitStar-Creator-Popular#.VPh6e3zF_ng _____________________________________________

o R2integrated Acquires Campbell-Based CatapultWorks

Campbell, Calif. -- R2integrated (r2i), a Baltimore-based provider of digital marketing and technology services, said on Thursday it has acquired Campbell-based counterpart CatapultWorks. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition gives r2i a significant presence in Silicon Valley, as well as the ability to expand its online and offline marketing service offerings. "Combining our services and teams gives us enormous leverage in what we can do for our clients and positions us as a very competitive, comprehensive agency for mid-tier and enterprise customers," said Matt Goddard, the CEO of r2i. CatapultWorks currently has more than 80 employees, increasing r2i's employee base to more than 200. The firm also adds demand generation and call center services that complement r2i’s digital and interactive offerings. Tom Beck, the CEO of CatapultWorks, will run r2i's new Silicon Valley office as president. http://www.r2integrated.com/http://www.catapultworks.com/ http://www.r2integrated.com/news/blog/a-major-milestone-for-r2i _____________________________________________

o Survey: CEOs More Optimistic About U.S. Economy

Washington, DC -- A growing percentage of U.S. CEOs expect their companies to increase sales and capital spending over the next six months, according to the Business Roundtable's first quarter CEO Economic Outlook Index. All told, 80% of those surveyed are predicting increases in U.S. sales, up from 74% last quarter, and 45% are expecting increases in capital spending, up from 36%. Their outlook on hiring remained essentially the same. The overall composite index rebounded to 90.8, up from 85.1 in the fourth quarter. "The U.S. economy and the job outlook are starting the year in a stronger position than 2014," said Randall Stephenson, chairman of the Business Roundtable and chairman and CEO of AT&T. "Almost half of CEOs plan to increase capital spending in the next six months, which shows that passage of tax-extender legislation late last year gave some companies greater confidence to invest more in the United States." Full survey results are available at the link below. http://www.brt.org/media/news-releases/ceo-economic-outlook-modest-uptick-business-optimism-especially-investment-still _____________________________________________

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